Testing Times, Kew Bridge Lane Closures and the Brooks Lane Footbridge

Chiswick Riverside councillor Peter Thompson reports back

Cllr Peter Thompson

August 19, 2023

Testing Times

Part of my day job involves co-ordinating applications to Universities in my School. Every year hours are spent offering advice, pouring over personal statements and writing school references.

On the third Wednesday in August we gather in school to explore the results and identify those students who have the grades they need and those who might need some help in finding a place at a university.

The next day it's back to school to hand out the results. Students usually already know where they are going before they get their envelopes as their offers are released on the UCAS website shortly after 8 am.

It was a little different this year for me as on Wednesday I was traveling back from holiday and on Thursday morning I was standing outside my daughter’s room at 8 am – I wasn’t allowed inside! - waiting for the website to update.

After a long 10 minutes, she got confirmation that she was off to her first-choice university. Thirty minutes later she was at her school in Isleworth picking up that brown envelope. Her grades and those of all students are the result of a huge amount of hard work. For many, this will have been the first set of formal exams they have ever taken. So congratulations to each and every young person taking their next step and a big thank you to the teachers who helped them get there. Next week it will be the turn of my other daughter to collect her GCSE results!

More Ambition Needed on Climate Change

Over the summer my colleagues were busy preparing our response to the Council's consultation on its Draft Supplementary Planning Document on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. This is an important document that will guide how new developments should respond to climate change in Hounslow.

Our submission urges the Council to encourage developers to build homes that last. Many blocks of flats already approved have an estimated life of only 20 years. This is unacceptable in the reality of climate change. All buildings should be built for the long term.

We would also like to see the Council offer incentives to persuade householders including landlords of rental properties to reverse paved-over front gardens and to explore ways to ban fake grass. One role of opposition groups is to improve policy and decision-making at the Council and hopefully, our submission will do just this.

Brooks Lane Network Rail Footbridge

Earlier this year Network Rail announced, out of the blue, their plans to replace the footbridge between Brooks Lane and Chiswick Village. This took us all by surprise since the erection, construction, alteration, or extension of any bridge cannot happen without the approval of the Council and we hadn’t seen any plans! Well, the plans have now been submitted and Network Rail is proposing a ‘like-for-like’, but higher, structure.

Many residents have made the very valid point that we have the once in a lifetime opportunity to put in place something much better than what is proposed – a bridge that incorporates sloping ramps on both sides. This would allow easier access for those who have difficulty with stairs, and for wheelchairs, buggies and prams etc. I know from personal experience that lugging 3 children, a pram and a scooter or two up and down the existing stairs is no joke.

Consulting on these plans in August is less than ideal. Only 15 adjacent homes have been sent letters from the Council about the application. The two Strand on the Green Schools (Infants and Junior) have not been sent this letter at all. The Planning Department plans to rectify this but obviously, the schools are now closed until the new term starts. Hundreds of residents and visitors use this bridge daily and we will be pushing to ensure that their views are made known.

Kew Bridge Works

We have just been told that from the 4 to 22 September TfL will be carrying out investigative works at Kew Bridge. They plan to survey the bridge’s drainage, check for leaks and blockages, assess the bridge’s waterproofing, and check the integrity of the bridge’s arches and parapets.

At various times you may see them digging trial pits, using ground-penetrating radar equipment, and using CCTV equipment. These investigations will help them to identify which parts of the bridge should be prioritised for renewal. What this means for us is that there will be lane closures in place on Kew Bridge from 21:00 to 05:00 each night. It may take us slightly longer than usual to drive across the bridge during these times so please allow extra time for your journey. Bus stop Kew Bridge (Stop H), which serves routes 65, 110, and N65 towards Kew, will be closed when the works are taking place. You will be able to walk and cycle over the bridge at all times.

Cllr Peter Thompson

peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk

07977 395810

DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES

Nothing in the immediate future

CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR SURGERIES

Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library (the eight Conservative councillors take this surgery in turn).

Gunnersbury: First Saturday of the month from 10am to 11am at The Gunnersbury Triangle Club, Triangle Way, off The Ridgeway, W3 8LU (at least one of the Chiswick Gunnersbury ward councillors takes this surgery). 

CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS and CONTACTS

Chiswick Gunnersbury (was Turnham Green) ward

Cllr Joanna Biddolph joanna.biddolph@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 703446

Cllr Ranjit Gill ranjit.gill@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702956

Cllr Ron Mushiso ron.mushiso@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702887

Chiswick Homefields ward

Cllr Jack Emsley jack.emsley@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 396017

Cllr Gerald McGregor gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk 07866 784821

Cllr John Todd john.todd@hounslow.gov.uk 07866 784651

Chiswick Riverside ward

Cllr Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810

Cllr Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823

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